About:

 

One Step Further opened in 1982. It is a nonprofit that serves the residents of Guilford County.

 

Their organization has a total of nine programs to help residents by working with people entering and leaving the criminal justice system and those in need of grocery assistance. Many of the people they serve are considered youths.

 

Most of the organization’s success comes directly from the number of people they serve.

 

Teen Court, Guilford Community Service-Restitution, Juvenile Mediation, Guilford Junior and Senior Life Skills alone help about 700 people annually.

 

“We do provide a lot of different services, so it’s very diverse,” said Sarah Goff, the former program director for Juvenile Mediation Services at One Step Further. “I think that’s great because you can come here and get really any service...or if we don’t have the service, we can direct you to the person who provides that service.”

 

Separate, yet similar program offerings include adult mediation and juvenile mediation services.

 

Speaking on the goal for juvenile offenders, Goff asks, “you did this, you’ve learned from it - how do we move forward from here?”

 

One program, the Guilford Junior and Senior Life Skills program, works with eight to 17-year-olds that are at-risk, undisciplined or possibly delinquents. The Life Skills program usually runs Monday, Wednesday and Friday in High Point and Greensboro.

 

The program educates youths on topics including anger management, peer pressure, conflict resolution, health and wellness, decision making and more. Youths selected for this free service are referred by juvenile court counselors, school resource officers, Teen Court and other school officials or community members.

 

Another youth program is Teen Court. The courtroom is made of a peer jury, all of which are first-time offenders from ages eight to 17 that have pleaded guilty to their misdemeanors. The peer jury itself creates the offender’s sentencing contract, which includes anything from victim restitution, curfews, community service and self-enrichment programs.

 

Those offenders that do not obey their contract, are sent to the juvenile court to stand before a judge for harsher repercussions and/or put on probation. Teen Court is a free service completed once a week.  

 

There is also an additional Teen Court that takes place in Alamance County.

 

Guilford Community Service-Restitution is another youth-oriented program, serving people from seven to 16 years of age. This gives youths community service hours through human service and nonprofit agencies as a way to complete their community service and victim restitution sanctions.

 

The program director oversees the person’s service and the organization itself pays the victims. This program is referred to certain youths going through the juvenile court system.

 

Juvenile Mediation Services are for two or more youths between the ages of seven and 17, who are willing to participate in mediation. This service is usually for first-time offenders to talk with the program director through restorative justice process including victim-offender mediation, family group conferencing, truancy mediation and peacemaker circles.

 

Those that refer youths to juvenile mediation are juvenile court counselors, school resource officers, judges, school representatives and the Department of Social Services. This is a free service.

 

“It keeps children from being in the system,” said Juvenile Mediation and Restorative Justice Intern, Devone Holley, speaking on the Juvenile Mediation Services offered at One Step Further. “It catches the problem before the problem really escalates.”

 

Adult Mediation Services are for two or more adults that are having a dispute, but are willing to participate in mediation with the program director and other trained mediators. Those who participate in this mediation are referred by either a community self-referral or the criminal justice system. An additional part of this program is that it provides Medicaid mediation services for residents in Anson and Union Counties. (Client assessment fees charged)

 

A program developed in 2017, named Family Factor, works with LGBT+ youths and their families that are hoping to find acceptance and understanding through the transition process. Youth sessions are for people up to the age of 22. It has weekly sessions for an extended period of time to help build relationships between family members.

 

The Pretrial Release Resource Program assists people that are released from jail with education services including anger management, character development classes, job readiness, adult life skills, GED preparation and more. This free program grants offenders several forms of assistance before they go to trial.

 

The last program, the Community Support & Nutrition Program, is a food pantry that provides other educational opportunities.

 

The food pantry has three locations, serving at St. Stephens AME Zion Church, One Step Further and the Cone Community Health & Wellness Center. However, all three pantries work differently.

 

The pantry at One Step Further is a grocery assistance program that delivers a week’s worth of groceries once a month. Many of the pantry’s patrons include homeless people, senior citizens, the disabled and working families that need additional assistance.

 

Those in need of grocery assistance must make an appointment and are then given the permission. Patrons in need of only a couple months of assistance do not require referrals; however, families receiving multiple months of groceries must have a hand-signed referral from a list of locations.

 

Referrals are accepted by the Department of Social Services, Triad Health Project, the Partnership with Community Care, Greensboro Housing Authority, mental health agencies, Senior Resources and Veteran Affairs.

 

Cox said a total of around 1,800 people are served at all three locations each month, with 900 of those patrons coming from One Step Further.

 

“We are not your typical pantry,” Cox said, who explained their location has several free educational programs in addition to grocery assistance.

 

One program is a lunch and learn for people who want to learn certain healthy recipes using a specific ingredient.

Another bi-monthly educational experience is teaching community members how to make container gardens using things that are laying around a person’s house, such as coffee canisters and laundry baskets.

 

“Our whole goal is to shorten the line,” Cox said, referring to the idea that the nonprofit wants to make people self-sufficient.

 

“We really work hard for the kids and the families we serve,” Goff said.

 

For other detailed information about One Step Further contact them over the phone or visit their website.